Glove drying devices



Nov. 11, 1969 E. APPELT 3,477,622

GLOVE DRYING DEVICES Filed Jan. 29, 1969 INVENTOR EDNA APPEL'T ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,477,622 GLOVE DRYING DEVICES Edna Appelt, 2390 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Apt. 1, Milwaukee, Wis. 53207 Filed Jan. 29, 1969, Ser. No. 795,090 Int. Cl. A4ld 19/00 U.S. Cl. 223-78 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Glove drying device including a structure having a contour which simulates gloves so that it can support the gloves for drying. The structure is modular and interconnected so that when it is disassembled it is fiat and can be stored.

The present invention relates generally to devices for establishing and maintaining a preselected contour in gloves which have been washed, cleaned or otherwise wetted while said gloves are processed to a dry state, and more particularly to such devices comprising one or more support assemblies readily interconnectable with like assemblies to form a unit.

It is manifest to anyone familiary with laundering or cleaning gloves that the common practice for drying gloves is to draw the wet glove over a hand-simulating form, usually a skeletal frame having an integral hook formed therewith, and thereafter hang the glove covered frame by its hook from a convenient line. In this way, the gloves hang vertically with the fingers pointed downwardly. In this way, moisture has a tendency to accumulate toward the bottom or lower portion of the glove, adjacent or in the finger tips, whereupon the glove is caused to slide from the form over which it is drawn and the finger tips require an inordinately long period to dry.

The present disclosure is based on my invention of novel structure for individual forms or support assemblies that are adaptable for accommodating either right or lefthand gloves and incorporate means whereby a plurality of the assemblies may be readily interlocked one with another, to form a unitary device for supporting a plurality of gloves, each with its fingers upward for more efficient drying, without the danger of the glove becoming disengaged from the assembly.

As shall appear, the construction of my support assemblies is such that they may be easily assembled or disassembled, can be stored in a flat compact manner when disassembled, and placed into a desser drawer or the like until they are again required.

The device is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, requires no mechanical skill for its manipulation, and is highly eflicient for the purpose for which it is intended.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described that may be assembled to accommodate either a right or left-hand glove.

Still another object of my invention is to construct the device to retain the glove in position during the drying operation, without the danger of disengagement and in a position calculated to obtain the shortest possible drying time.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device that may be easily stored in a compact manner when not in use.

These and still further objects of my invention, as shall hereinafter appear, are fulfilled by the present invention in an unexpected fashion, as shall be discerned from the following detailed description of embodiments exemplary of my invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

3,477,622 Patented Nov. 11, 1969 FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a support assembly embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the thumb portion of a support assembly embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view showing the thumb portion of FIG. 2 in operative relationship to the hand section of FIG. 1 in a manner to accommodate a righthand glove;

FIGURE 4 is an end view of a support assembly embodying the invention adapted for a right-hand glove and showing, in phantom, how the thumb portion would be located to accommodate a left-hand glove;

FIGURE 5 shows the support assembly of FIG. 3 with a right-hand glove partially drawn thereover;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a manner of connecting four support assemblies to form a device for simultaneously drying two pair of gloves in accordance with the invention; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a plurality of support assemblies assembled into a device of zig-zag pattern which may be satisfactorily employed for drying a plurality of glove-s.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and referring now to the same, the character 10 shows a flat piece of water repellant material, such as plastic, aluminum or the like, formed into a hand portion 11 having four fingers 12 corresponding respectively to the little (12a), ring (12b), middle (12c) and index (12d) fingers of the human hand. Adjacent what could be called the wrist portion, hand portion 11 has outwardly extending portions 13, 13a. Member 13 is provided with a slot 14 extending upwardly from its lower edge 15 to a point 16 adjacent the center thereof, and the member 13a is provided with a slot 17 extending downwardly from its upper edge 18 to a point 19 adjacent the center thereof.

Disposed within the palm section of support assembly 10, near the index finger 12d, is a vertical slot 20 which accommodates a thumb portion 21 having an open slot 22, forming bifurcated tongue portions or prongs 23, 23a for engagement with the slot 20, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. When the thumb 21 is placed into the slot 20 on one side, as shown in FIG. 3, it Will accommodate a right-hand glove and when it is inserted into the slot 20- from the opposite side of the form 10, it will accommodate a left-hand glove. This arrangement is shown in FIG. 4, where the thumb 21 is shown in phantom on the reverse side.

In FIG. 5, I show a glove 24 partially drawn over fingers 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d and thumb 21 of a support assembly. Because my support assembly 10 provides a hand portion which is fiat and smooth, it is possible to readily draw glove 24 thereover in an easy manner. With my construction, I can interconnect several support assemblies 10, as shown at 24 in FIG. 6, by engaging slot 14 of one member with slot 17 of an adjacent assembly. As seen from FIG. 6, a device may be constructed of four support assemblies to form a square which is then capable of simultaneously drying two pair of gloves.

It is also possible to assemble the assemblies 10 in the manner shown in FIG. 7 at 25 to define a zig-zag pattern, or as many assemblies as desired may be assembled to form circular or other suitable patterns (not shown). v

From the foregoing, it becomes apparent that the device described and illustrated herein provides a very useful product that is highly efficient for the purpose for which it is intended and readily fulfills all of the aforementioned objects in a remarkably unexpected manner. The device is easy to manufacture and may consist of stampings of any type of water-repellant material. The flat stampings, when in a disassembled state, may be 3 packed and stored in a compact manner. It is, of course, understood that while a specific structure has been herein disclosed for illustrative purpose, such changes in the form, shape and configuration of the parts as may be made without effecting the efliciency and operation of my device are intended within the spirit of my invention, especially as it is defined by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim: 1. A device for obtaining and maintaining a preselected shape in gloves comprising:

a hand member, said hand member including a first, second, third and fourth finger portion, a palm portion and a wrist portion, said palm portion having a front face and an obverse face, said palm portion including a vertical slot positioned below said finger portions; and a thumb member including a thumb portion and a tongue portion, said tongue portion having a pair of spaced apart prongs, said prongs straddling said palm portion and gripping opposed parts of the faces of said palm portion below said vertical slot when said tongue is operatively positioned within said vertical slot, said tongue portion being operatively insertable within said vertical slot from said front face and said obverse face of said palm portion.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein a first wing portion and a second wing portion are disposed outward from said wrist portion and each have an upper and lower surface,

said first wing portion having an upper slot which opens to its upper surface,

said second wing portion having a lower slot which opens to its lower surface,

said slotted wing portions permitting the interconnection of a plurality of said devices when the slot of the first wing portion of one of said devices engages the slot of the second wing portion of another said device.

3. A device as defined in claim 2 wherein the slots of said wing portions extend vertically substantially midway References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,524,285 10/ 1950 Chezum 223-7 8 2,783,925 3/ 1957 Ross 223-78 3,096,008 7/ 1963 Schumacher 223-78 3,409,142 11/ 1968 Mechaneck 211-13 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner 

